♪ saying good-bye to victims of the flt hood shootings. the funerals of six victims killed in the massacre. police have arrested the mother of a missing 5-year-old girl on a charge of child abuse may be the least shocking of the accusations against her. plus, how much money do you think a perfect cow is worth? well, this one wu is the bovine version of best in show, and you've got to hear how much someone paid for her. hey there. thanks for having us over. this is h l n. i'm virginia cha. president obama landed in china

this morning. earlier today he covered ground ne goerting a new nuclear agreement with russia. they're working to replace the start to nuclear treaty that expires next month, and the president says things look good. >> in our first meeting when i traveled to moscow, we arrived at an understanding that it made sense for our two countries to begin reducing further our nuclear stockpiles. our negotiators have made excellent progress over the last several months. our goal continues to be to complete the negotiations and be able to sign a deal before the end of the deal. and i'm confident that if we work hard and with a sense of urur jenscy about it, we should be able to get it done. >> the two leaders also talked about iran, obama said time is running fout out for tehran doing something about their

nuclear program. president barack obama couldn't bring home the olympics, but he's bringing some tourism to his home state. the united states will host the apec summit in hawaii. some guantanamo bay detainees could be transferred to this prison in northern illinois. two obama administration officials tell cnn federal officials will visit the thompson correctional center tomorrow, it's about 150 miles west of chicago. illinois governor pat quinn described the prison as state of the art and virtually empty. the obama administration promised to close guantanamo by january 22nd, but it's having trouble meeting that deadline. >> we now know, after many months in office, that there aren't nations out there who are going to take these 200 or so

detainees left if guantanamo so the idea of relocating these prisoners in the united states is a reality that the obama administration is confronting. >> a republican lawmaker from chicago is already saying that would invite terrorist attacks on illinois. an obama administration official says the prison would be even more secure than the nation's only supermax prison. police in north carolina have charged the mother of a missing 5-year-old girl with human trafficking. antoinette davis also faces charges of prostitution and filing a false report and child abuse. she's shown alongside a man police charged with kidnapping the child. they say mario o'neil is the suspect captured on a hotel surveillance video carrying the little girl into a room the day she was reported missing. authorities still don't know where she is. last thursday they arrested davis' boyfriend but have sense dropped kidnapping charges against clarence co. president obama is asking

lawmakers to hold off on any investigations into the ft. hood shooting. he says they should wait until law enforcement and the military finish their investigations first. he also asked lawmakers not to turn this event into what he called political theater. >> if there was a failure to take appropriate action before the shootings, there must be accountability. beyond that, and most importantly, we must quickly and thoroughly evaluate and address any flaws in the system so that we can prevent a similar breach from happening again. our government must be able to act swiftly and surely when it has threatening information and our troops must have the security that they deserve. >> lawmakers say they want to look into e-mails between shooting suspect major nidal hasan and a radical cleric in yemen. the fbi says it knew about those but concluded hasan had no links to terrorism. meanwhile, family and friends said their final good-byes to six victims of the shootings.

funerals for five soldiers and one civilian were held in several states yesterday. one funeral was in ellewood, illinois, where a young private was laid to rest. wgn was there. >> reporter: old glory hangs suspended between two joliet ladder trucks, the 74-year-old katherine brought her own. she didn't know michael pearson and watched from across the street. >> it's sad, really, to see things happen to young guys, you know, when they try to serve the country and then it goes bad. >> reporter: family and friends of army private first class michael pearson said good-bye this afternoon. the ceremony inside the fred danes funeral home was private. illinois governor pat quinn among those inside. >> his mom and dad, you could tell there's no words in the english language or any language to relieve the pain of losing someone you've known from the day they were born. >> reporter: michael pearson of bolingbrook was one of 13 soldiers killed last week during a rampage at ft. hood military

base in texas. pearson was shot three time, the alleged gunman one of the army's very own. >> it's a shame. 13 people killed? for what? >> reporter: the service lasted just over an hour. after which the processional moved to the abraham lincoln national cemetery where michael pearson was laid to rest with full military honors. immediately after michael's brother christopher thanked the entire chicagoland community. >> there wasn't a single moment throughout this past week that did not touch me. that's all i can say. i'm sorry. >> reporter: because of his love of music, the pearson family is working to establish a scholarship in michael's honor. michael pearson was 22 years old. reporting from elwood, wgn news. two more victims of a suspected serial killer were laid to rest today. they were among 11 women whose bodies were found in a house in cleveland.

fbi agents worked for about four hours saturday with thermal imaging devices, rakes and shovels to see if any more bodies were in the backyard of sowell. sowell is a convicted sex offender, now in jail facing murder, rape and other charges. authorities say sowell used drugs anz alcohol to lure women to his home and then strangled them. the governor of virginia visited areas of his state that were hit hard by a nor'easter. governor kaine assured victims he would with push for federal money to help them recover and try to free up state funded as well. nearly eight inches of rain drenched norfolk. officials are waiting for floodwaters to recede to assess the full damage. the powerful storm battered emergen new jersey for a third straight day yesterday, which didn't help people trying to clear roads and repair storm damage. that storm is plamed for at least six deaths in three states.

witch hazel sounds funny. it's a beauty product that maybe your grandmother used. >> reporter: what's flowing through this tube? witch hazel, produced by the american disstilling company since 1866. in the early days, wood from witch hazel shrugs was harvested with horses and disstilled the old-fas fashioned way. here it's still harvested where pitch hazel grows wild but disstilled here, the mission of owner ed jack owe wits, his son credits him with the first renaissance. >> reporter: they were doing well, selling witch hazel in bulk for other brands. then son brian join pd the company eight years ago, set out to transform the company's own old-fashioned witch hazel brand

into something fresh and modern. same product, updated image. >> we are the best in the world at producing this product, and now our goal is to be the best in the world and marketing this product. >> reporter: first stop, running the old image past today's consumer. >> we showed them the package. they said, oh, my god, i don't want to put that on my face. >> reporter: the look changed. so did the language. it's no longer an astringent. it's now a pore-perfecting toner to position it as a gentle product. and a new ad campaign reflects the new branding. >> removes what cleansers don't. >> we've released double-digit growth almost every year since i've been here. the future i envision is really expanding the team of people that we have more marketing and sales bringing more in and really adding more fuel to the fire. >> reporter: the company plans to build a warehouse, bringing this 19th century health and beauty staple to a 21st century beauty regimen.

you could call it a beauty contest, and you can bet someone is really proud of the winner. >> when you look at missy, she has a lot of style, a lot of presence. she know s she's pretty. >> missy is a cow and considered as perfect as cows get. wait until you hear how much money someone paid for her.

how much do you you think the the perfect cow is worth? well, here she is.

her name is missy, considered as perfect as a cow can get. she lives in canada where she was just sold for $1.2 million u.s. so whaik makes her so special? well, you can hear it from this guy. >> missy has a combination of a deep pedigree, a great family behind her. she has a great milk production. she also has a high genetic index and she also is one of the best show cows in the breed. >> there you do. missy will stay in canada even though her buyers are from the us and denmark, two partners. she's only one of five cows ever sold for more than a million dollars. blame it on friday the 13th because the day's bad luck apparently made bruce springsteen forget where he was. the boss shouted "hello ohio" to his fans friday night, but he was actually in michigan. springsteen referreded to ohio several times in the following 30 minutes until band gi starrist steve van zant whispered in his ear.

novelest stephen king stopped by hln to talk to robin meade about his new book and a couple of other things. >> so this book, this big, this acclaimed already, by the way, oh, gosh, i don't know how many days it's been number one on amazon and who knows elsewhere, i wonder if it will start the retirement rumors again. and what say you? >> when i talked about retiring, i had this accident where a guy came along and hit me with his van and broke a lot of stuff on the right side of my body, and i was in a lot of pain. i was miserable a lot of the time. i thought, you know, this is just too much work. i can't do it. then little by little, the miracle is we get better. if we don't die, we get better. i started to get better, started to feel better, and i wanteded to work again. i enjoy what i do. >> so there's no retirement coming anytime soon. how do you feel lately, by the way? >> i feel terrific. >> you can see more of the interview monday morning,

including a sneak peek at his new book "under the dome." that's on morning express with robin meade from 6 to 10 in the morning. i'm larry smith. manny packial is a living legend in the philippines which is why they stopped, watch and parted sunday afternoon despite the recent weight of terrorism rebellions and flooding there, they watched their guy made history. the fight was finally stopped in the 12th round in vegas last time our time, giving packial, welterweight title belt, his seventh title in seven different weight divisions. that is a new boxing record. wow. brandon jennings, just a year removeded from high school, making his seventh nba start. he went and played overseas in europe for one season instead of going to college. what a game last night. he was held scoreless in the first quarter but then went off for 55 points, a new bucks team record set once more than 30

years ago by a guy named kareem abdul jabbar. what a career he has ahead of him. a shot heard around college football. blount dropping that guy to his knees and earning a suspension and have mixed martial arts people saying, when does this guy get out of college? that ban was reduced, blount back in uniform last night. the senior running back didn't play, watching his former backup instead michael james. the ducks routed arizona state. play the daytime, heat losing to new jersey at home in the final seconds. dwayne wade, are you going to drive like the play calls for? no. shoot it up from there, the three-pointer to win the game. watch wade. fumbled the ball, had no choice but to drain the game winner with .1 seconds left. just in the nick of time for d-wade. that's sports.

do you think frozen vegetables maybe don't quite measure up? it turns out sometimes they may actually be more healthy for you than fresh veggies. check out why in today's "beyond the surface." >> fresh versus frozen produce, which is better? if you think fresh, think again. it turns out that frozen produce is just as nutritious as fresh produce because frozen vegetables and fruit are harvested at their peak. the nutrition is preserved throughout the process. you can lose those vitamins to water if you cook them in large amounts. i would suggest that you cook them always in small amounts by steaming. canned vegetables are usually very high in sodium. canned fruit, unless you get it packed in its own juice or in water, skip it. you want to get as many colorful vegetables and fruit in your

diet as possible to protect you from chronic disease.

defense secretary robert gates has blocked the release of any new photos showing americans abusing foreign detainees. the obama administration told the supreme court yesterday gates is using his new powers provided by law signed last month. >> they are 21 pictures showing americans abusing detainees in iraq and afghanistan. the aclu sued to have them released and a lower court supported that, but gates says the release would put u.s. citizens and service members in danger. construction of the aircraft carrier "gerald r. ford" got its official kickoff yesterday with a keel-laying ceremony. that plane is named for the former president and is the first in the new ford class of characters. ford's daughter was at the ceremony. the carrier is scheduled to delivery to the navy in 2015. iran is creating a new

cyberpolice unit to crack down on internet crimes. iranian newspapers report the new force will monitor websites, looking for what one official calls fraud, insults, and the spreading of lies. this is seen as an opposition movement against iran. authorities the banned most websites linked to the opposition, but often new sites spring up just within days. iran hasn't said how the cyberpolice will carry out the internet surveillance. it seems a suspected vandal who's been plastering los angeles for months with hundreds of stickers is no juvenile delinquent. he's 73 years old. authorities say the oldest alleged tagger ever busted by l.a.'s sheriff's deputies. they caught him sticky handed when he slapped on "who is john scott" stickers on a subway station. john scott was arrested and

charged. a secret society linked two former presidents has long been rumored to have the skull of a warrior. geronimo's accidents now say they have even more proof of a 100-year-old crime.

of the ft. hooded shootings. the funerals of six victims killed in the massacre. police have arrested the mother of a missing 5-year-old girl and charges of child abuse may be the least shocking of accusations against her. plus, how much money do you think a perfect cow is worth? well, this one is the bovine version of best in show and you've got to hear how much someone paid for her. hey, there. thanks for having us over. his hln. i'm virginia cha. president obama landed in china this morning, the third stop of his tour in asia.

earlier today, he did cover some grounding, negotiating a new nuclear agreement with russia. he met russian president dmitry medvedev at an international summit in singapore. they're working to replace the start to nuclear treaty that expires next month and the president said things look good. >> in our first meeting, when i traveled to moscow, we arrived at an understanding that it made sense for our two countries to begin reducing further our nuclear stockpiles. our negotiators have made excellent progress over the last several months. our goal continues to be to complete the negotiations and to be able to sign a deal before the end of the year. and i'm confident that if we work hard and with a sense of urgency about it that we should be able to get that done. >> president obama and the russian leader also talked about iran. obama said that time is running out for tehran to do something about its nuclear program. he said that u.s. and russia will keep pushing iran

diplomatically and that there are other options if that fails, but he didn't offer any details. president barack obama couldn't bring home the olympics, but he's bringing some tourism to his home state. the united states will host the apec summit in hawaii in 2011. now, the host gets to dictate what guests wear for the summit's official picture. the summit says he looks forward to seeing the other leaders decked out in flower shirts and grass skirts. some guantanamo bay detainees could be transferred to this prison in northern illinois. two obama administration officials tell cnn federal officials will visit the thomson correctional center tomorrow, about 150 miles west of chicago. governor pat quinn described the facility as state of the art and virtually empty. >> we now know, after many months in office, that there aren't nations out there who are going to take these 200 or so

detainees left in guantanamo. so the idea of relocating these prisoners in the united states is a reality that the obama administration is confronting. >> a republican lawmaker from chicago is already saying that would invite terrorist attacks on illinois. an obama administration official says the prison would be even more security than the nation's only supermax prison. police in north carolina have charged the mother of a missing 5-year-old girl with human trafficking. antoinette davis also faces a prostitution charge and filing a false report. she's shown alongside a man charged with kidnapping the child. they said mario mcneil is the subject captured on a hotel surveillance video carrying the little girl into a room the day she was reported missing. authorities still don't know where she is. last thursday they arrested davis' boyfriend, but have since dropped kidnapping charges against clarence coe.

president obama is asking lawmakers to hold off on any investigations since into the ft. hood shooting. he says they should wait until law enforcement and the military finish their investigations first. he also asked lawmakers not to turn this event into what he called political theater. >> if there was a failure to take appropriate action before the shootings, there must be accountability. beyond that, and most importantly, we must quickly and thoroughly evaluate and address any flaws in the system so we can prevent a similar breach from happening again. our government must be able to act swiftly and surely when it has threatening information. and our troops must have the security that they deserve. lawmakers say they want to look into e-mails between shooting suspect major nidal malik hasan and a radical cleric in yemen. the fbi says they knew about those, but concluded hasan had no links to terrorism. meanwhile, family and friends said their final good-byes to six victims of the shootings.

funerals for five soldiers and one civilian were held in several states yesterday. one funeral was in elwood, illinois, where a young private was laid to rest. antoine lewis from affiliate wgn was there. >> reporter: old glory hangs suspended between two joliet ladder trucks. but she brought her home. she didn't know michael pearson. she watched from across the street. >> it's sad, really, to see things happen to young guys when they try to serve the country and it goes bad. >> family and friends of army first class michael pearson said good-bye this afternoon. the ceremony inside the fred dings funeral home was private. illinois governor pat quinn among those inside. >> his mom and dad, you could tell, there's no words in the english language or any language to relieve the pain of losing someone you've known from the day they were born. >> reporter: michael pearson of bolingbrook was one of 13 soldiers killed last week during

a rampage at ft. hood military base in texas. pearson was shot three times. the alleged gunman, one of the army's very own. >> it's a shame. i mean, 13 people killed. for what? >> reporter: the service lasted just over an hour, after which the processional moved to the abraham lincoln national cemetery, where michael pearson was laid to rest with full military honors. immediately after, michael's brother, christopher, thanked the entire chicagoland community. >> there wasn't a single moment throughout this past week that did not touch me. and that's all i can say. i'm sorry. >> reporter: because of his love of music, the pearson family is working to establish a scholarship in michael's honor. michael pearson was 22 years old. rof reporting from elwood, antoin lewis, wgn news. two more victims of a suspected serial killer were laid to rest yesterday. they were among 11 women whose bodies were found in a house in

cleveland. fbi agents worked for about four hours on saturday with thermal imaging devices, rakes, and shovels to see if anymore bodies may be in anthony sowell's backyard. sowell is a convicted sex offender and he's now in jail facing murder, rape, and other charges. authorities say sowell used drugs and alcohol to lure women to his home and then strangle them. the governor of virginia visited areas of his state that were hit hard by a nor'easter. governor tim kaine assured storm victims he would push for federal money to help them recover. he also said he would try to free up some state funds as well. nearly eight inches of rain drenched the coastal city of norfolk. officials are waiting for floodwaters to recede to assess the full damage. the powerful storm battered new jersey for a third straight day yesterday. that didn't help people who were trying to clear flooded roads and repair storm damage. that storm is blamed for at least six deaths in three states. you could call it a beauty contest and you can bet someone is really proud of the winner.

>> when you look at missy, she has a lot of style, a lot of presence. she knows she's pretty? mm-hmm, missy is a cow and she's considered as perfect as cows get. so wait until you hear how much money someone paid for her.

perfect cow is worth? well, here she is. her name is missy. she's considered to be as perfect as a cow can get. she lives in canada where she was just sold for $1.2 million u.s. so what makes her so special? well, you can hear it from this guy. >> missy has a combination of a deep pedigree, a great family behind her. she has a great milk production. she also has a high genetic index. and she also is one of the best show cows in the breed. >> there you g. missy will stay in canada even though her buyers are from the

u.s. and denmark, two partners. she's one of five cows ever sold for more than $1 million. blame it on friday the 13th, because the day's bad luck apparently made bruce springsteen forget where he was. the boss shouted, "hello, ohio!" to his fans last night, until he was in michigan. he referred to ohio several times during the following 30 minutes until band guitarist whispered in his here. stephan johnson suffered a bizarre injury. he lost control of the bar while bench pressing in the weight room, suffering a crushed larynx that required seven hours of surgery. he spoke for the first time since, repeating the words his grandfather repeated to him. >> god has a plan. run, stephan, run. >> he may not ever play again.

tiger woods has a victory to go along with that $3 million appearance fee that he got to play in australia for the first time in more than a decade. he entered the day tied in a three-way tie for first place, but tiger comes away with the win. his seventh victory of the year. and dons the gold jacket, the crowds because of his appearance, $25,000 every day made it feel like it was a major, even though it was not. big victory for tiger. one of the winningest quarterbacks in college football history resides right now in austin, texas. his name is colt mccoy. he ties david green, the former georgia quarterback, for the most wins ever in a career. he has a chance to break that here in the final weeks of the season. two touchdowns for him as texas remains undefeated with a win over baylor. beware of those game crews looking looking to entertain the masses. this guy thinks he's going to jump rope. much to his surprise, he realizes that the gag is on him. and when he realizes it, he is

not happy. look -- now, come on. come on. come on. we all laughed at it, why aren't you laughing? lighten up. that's sports. this weekend, following veterans day, we're reminded that it is important to say thank you to our troops. well, for one woman, that's actually a full-time job called operation gratitude. hln's robin meade has the incredible story of this breakthrough woman. >> reporter: carolyn blachette is a one-woman uso. she's on a mission to bring smiles to the men and women serving our country. >> operation gratitude is a volunteer nonprofit organization that sends care packages to service members who are deployed overseas in combat zones. >> blashek was inspired by a soldier she met in 2003. >> he had no one in his life, and i thought to myself, i need to let him and every service member at home know that people at home care about them.

>> reporter: so she started sending care packages to the troop out of her home. >> within a few weeks, my house was literally covered floor to ceiling with items that people had donated. >> reporter: bashek recruited volunteers and now holds drives that include celebrities. >> in six years, blashek has shipped close to 500,000 packages. absolutely unbelievable what one woman can do. it's infectious. she even traveled to iraq to hand-deliver 300,000th one. >> it was time to me to give back to my country and this is my way of doing it. so just how hard is it to live without health insurance? well, one woman has four jobs and, believe it or not, she can't get coverage that she can afford. and one of her employers isn't sure he can help.

defense secretary robert gates has blocked the release of any new photos showing americans abusing foreign detainees. the obama administration told the supreme court yesterday gates is using his new powers provided by law signed last month. there are 21 pictures showing americans abusing detainees in iraq and afghanistan. the aclu sued to have them released and a lower court supported that, but gates says the release would put u.s. citizens and service members in danger. construction of the aircraft carrier "gerald r. ford" got its official kickoff yesterday with a keel-laying ceremony. that carrier is named for the former president, of course, and is the first in the new ford class of carriers. ford's daughter, susan fords bale was at the ceremony and declared the keel truly and fairly laid.

the carrier is scheduled to delivery to the navy in 2015. senators may start debating a new health care bill this week, but just down the street from capitol hill, you can see how the issue is really affecting people. elaine quijano talked to one worker who is taking a chance with her health and a boss who is trying to help her. >> you're thinking about 8 x 10, that kind of thing. >> reporter: 58-year-old cary caldwell never imagined struggling like this. >> i'm working all the time, not making a whole lot of money, and don't have any health insurance. >> reporter: for 39 years, she worked and paid into an employer-sponsored health insurance plan. but the economic downturn suddenly left caldwell without a job and without health insurance. at first, she tried paying for health care herself, but without her employer picking up half the cost, she found insurance out of reach. >> that's a lot to me. $334 a month when you don't have steady income is like saying $3,000 a month. i just plain didn't have that kind of money. >> reporter: so caldwell, who

suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, is doing without three of the four medications she needs. >> i don't know what my blood pressure is and i don't want to know. >> reporter: she works four part-time jobs, but doesn't have health insurance from any of them. one of her bosses, john weintraub, a co-owner of frager's hardware, wants to change that. >> we don't know if we can afford to put her on the plan. >> reporter: as a small business owner, weintraub says politicians haven't done a good job explaining how health care legislation might benefit him, and in turn, his staff of 50 employees. >> we can't understand it, is the big thing. don't understand what is truly going on. >> reporter: weintraub says the health care plan he offers employees went up this year, costing 30% more than last year. that's affected his bottom line and his ability to help his staff, including cary caldwell. >> i'm doing everything i can do. how can the system help me live

like a normal person and have the health care i need? >> reporter: for now, she's taking a major gamble, foregoing that expensive medicine for her diabetes, a disease she knows full well can lead to blindness, kidney disease, amputation, or stroke. >> i'm living on borrowed time now. and this situation isn't helping that, you know? i feel good, but i don't know -- i don't know what the future holds. >> that was elaine quijano reporting. by the way, president obama says he wants a new health care bill on his desk by the end of the year. that is less than seven weeks away. iran is creating a new cyberpolice unit to crack down on internet crimes. iranian newspapers report the new force will monitor websites, looking for what one official calls fraud, insults, and the spreading of lies. this is seen as a move against the opposition move in iran who relies heavily on the web to spread its message.

authorities banned most websites linked to the opposition, but often new sites spring up just within days. iran hasn't said how the cyberpolice will carry out the internet surveillance. it seems a suspected vandal who's been plastering los angeles for months with hundreds of stickers is no juvenile delinquent. he's 73 years old. authorities say the oldest alleged tagger ever busted by l.a.'s sheriff's deputies. they say they caught him sticky handed welcome so to speak, when he slapped on "who is john scott" stickers on a subway station. well, john scott was arrested and charged with suspicion of felony vandalism. they believe his motive is the same as teenage taggers, fame and notoriety. a secret society linked two former presidents has long been rumored to have the skull of a famous indian warrior. it's a mystery that may end up in court. geronimo's descendants now say they have even more proof of a 100-year-old crime.

saying good-bye to victims of the ft. hood shootings. the funerals of six victims killed in the massacre. police have arrested the mother of a missing 5-year-old girl on charges of child abuse, may be the least shocking of the accusations against her. plus, how much money do you think a perfect cow is worth? well, this one is the bovine version of best in show and you've got to hear how much someone paid for her. hey, there. thanks for having us over. his hln. i'm virginia cha. president obama landed in china this morning, the third stop of his tour in asia. earlier today, he did cover some

grounding, negotiating a new nuclear agreement with russia. he met russian president dmitry medvedev at an international summit in singapore. they're working to replace the start to nuclear treaty that expires next month and the president said things look good. >> in our first meeting, when i traveled to moscow, we arrived at an understanding that it made sense for our two countries to begin reducing further our nuclear stockpiles. our negotiators have made excellent progress over the last several months. our goal continues to be to complete the negotiations and to be able to sign a deal before the end of the year. and i'm confident that if we work hard and with a sense of urgency about it that we should be able to get that done. >> president obama and the russian leader also talked about iran. obama said that time is running out for tehran to do something about its nuclear program. he said that u.s. and russia will keep pushing iran diplomatically and that there

are other options if that fails, but he didn't offer any details. president barack obama couldn't bring home the olympics, but he's bringing some tourism to his home state. the united states will host the apec summit in hawaii in 2011. now, the host gets to dictate what guests wear for the summit's official picture. the president says he looks forward to seeing the other leaders decked out in flower shirts and grass skirts. some guantanamo bay detainees could be transferred to this prison in northern illinois. two obama administration officials tell cnn federal officials will visit the thomson correctional center tomorrow, about 150 miles west of chicago. illinois governor pat quinn described the prison at state of the art and virtually empty. the obama administration promised to close guantanamo by january 22nd, but it's having trouble meeting that deadline. >> we now know, after many months in office, that there aren't nations out there who are going to take these 200 or so detainees left in guantanamo.

so the idea of relocating these prisoners in the united states is a reality that the obama administration is confronting. >> a republican lawmaker from chicago is already saying that would invite terrorist attacks on illinois. an obama administration official says the prison would be even more secure than the nation's only supermax prison. police in north carolina have charged the mother of a missing 5-year-old girl with human trafficking. antoinette davis also faces a child abuse charge, including prostitution and filing a false report. she's shown here alongside a man police have charged with kidnapping the child. they say mario mcneill is the suspect captured on a hotel surveillance video carrying the little girl into a room on the day she was reported missing. authorities still don't know where she is. last thursday they arrested davis' boyfriend, but have since dropped kidnapping charges against clarence coe. president obama is asking

lawmakers to hold off on any investigations into the ft. hood shooting. he says they should wait until law enforcement and the military finish their investigations first. he also asked lawmakers not to turn this event into what he called political theater. >> if there was a failure to take appropriate action before the shootings, there must be accountability. beyond that, and most importantly, we must quickly and thoroughly evaluate and address any flaws in the system so we can prevent a similar breach from happening again. our government must be able to act swiftly and surely when it has threatening information. and our troops must have the security that they deserve. lawmakers say they want to look into e-mails between shooting suspect major nidal malik hasan and a radical cleric in yemen. the fbi says they knew about those, but concluded hasan had no links to terrorism. meanwhile, family and friends said their final good-byes to six victims of the shootings. funerals for five soldiers and one civilian were held in

several states yesterday. one funeral was in elwood, illinois, where a young private was laid to rest. antoine lewis from affiliate wgn was there. >> reporter: old glory hangs suspended between two joliet ladder trucks, but 74-year-old katherine basic brought her own. she didn't know michael pearson. she watched from across the street. >> it's sad, really, to see things happen to young guys when they try to serve the country and it goes bad. >> reporter: family and friends of army first class michael pearson said good-bye this afternoon. the ceremony inside the fred dings funeral home was private. illinois governor pat quinn among those inside. >> his mom and dad, you could tell, there's no words in the english language or any language to relieve the pain of losing someone you've known from the day they were born. >> reporter: michael pearson of bolingbrook was one of 13 soldiers killed last week during a rampage at ft. hood military base in texas.

pearson was shot three times. the alleged gunman, one of the army's very own. >> it's a shame. i mean, 13 people killed. for what? >> reporter: the service lasted just over an hour, after which the processional moved to the abraham lincoln national cemetery, where michael pearson was laid to rest with full military honors. immediately after, michael's brother, christopher, thanked the entire chicagoland community. >> there wasn't a single moment throughout this past week that did not touch me. and that's all i can say. i'm sorry. >> reporter: because of his love of music, the pearson family is working to establish a scholarship in michael's honor. michael pearson was 22 years old. reporting from elwood, antwan lewis, wgn news. two more victims of a suspected serial killer were laid to rest yesterday. they were among 11 women whose bodies were found in a house in cleveland. fbi agents worked for about four

hours on saturday with thermal imaging devices, rakes, and shovels to see if anymore bodies may be in anthony sowell's backyard. sowell is a convicted sex offender and he's now in jail facing murder, rape, and other charges. authorities say sowell used drugs and alcohol to lure women to his home and then strangle them. the governor of virginia visited areas of his state that were hit hard by a nor'easter. governor tim kaine assured storm victims he would push for federal money to help them recover. he also said he would try to free up some state funds as well. nearly eight inches of rain drenched the coastal city of norfolk. officials are waiting for floodwaters to recede to assess the full damage. the powerful storm battered new jersey for a third straight day yesterday. that didn't help people who were trying to clear flooded roads and repair storm damage. that storm is blamed for at least six deaths in three states. let's turn our attention now to the national forecast. there is something brewing out

west. meteorologist karen maginnis joins us now to fill us in. hey, karen. >> hey, virginia. yes, we've been watching this now. it looks like this system isn't going to be moving very quickly, and as a result, the snowfall totals across the interior west are going to be fairly substantial. already in littleton, colorado, an estimated 8.5 inches of snowfall along with some pretty gusty winds. so if you're traveling along interstate 25 or interstate 70, watch out, because those road conditions are going to be very treacherous. in denver, you could see between 6 and 10 inches of snowfall. and that extends on over into portions of kansas as well. now, you may have heard about all the commotion associated with the remnants of ida that pounded the mid-atlantic and southern new england. well, now it's still beginning to exit across that extreme southern new england region, but still the remnants of that still lashing those areas. but for new york city, an improved day with temperatures expected to be mostly into the

60s. that's running about 10 to 12 degrees above normal. also, for the deep south, temperatures in the 70s. if you're headed to southern california, those winds are going to be fairly gusty. so we're looking at some wind advisories for riverside county, also, san bernardino. watch out, some of those wind gusts up around 40 to 50 miles an hour. for hln, i'm meteorologist karen maginnis. you could call it a beauty contest and you can bet someone is really proud of the winner. >> when you look at missy, she has a lot of style, a lot of presence. she knows she's prettiy. >> mm-hmm, missy is a cow and she's considered as perfect as cows get. wait until you hear how much money someone paid for her. air travel can be a nightmare. but knowing how to work the system can help make it a little less stressful.

>> the best way to avoid delays, both on the tarmac and in general is to take the first flight of the day. delays pile up throughout the day, causing congestion. if you can get ahead of the problem, take the first flight of the morning, you're going to be in good shape. >> reporter: using alternative airports will also help. >> smaller airports have fewer planes arriving and departing, so they may be less likely to have delays. >> reporter: listen to the advice of other travelers and take weather into consideration. >> laguardia airport in new york is notorious for flight delays and it's one people talk about avoiding. chicago, o'hare, is particularly tricky in the weren't months. and because it is such a major hub, it can slow down airports all over the country.

how much do you think the perfect cow is worth?

well, here she is. her name is missy. she's considered to be as perfect as a cow can get. she lives in canada where she was just sold for $1.2 million. so what makes her so special? well, you can hear it from this guy. >> missy has a combination of a deep pedigree, a great family behind her. she has a great milk production. she also has a high genetic index. and she also is one of the best show cows in the breed. >> there you go. missy will stay in canada even though her buyers are from the u.s. and denmark, two partners. she's one of only five cows ever sold for more than $1 million. blame it on friday the 13th, because the day's bad luck apparently made bruce springsteen forget where he was. the boss shouted, "hello, ohio!" to his fans friday night, but he was actually in michigan. springsteen referred to ohio several times in the following

30 minutes until band guitarist steve van zandt whispered in his ear. i'm larry smith. manny pais a living legend in h native philippines, where they stopped and watched. they watched their guy make history. the proud of the philippines battled relentlessly until the fight was stopped in the 12th round, giving pacquiao the belt. it's his seventh title in seven different weight divisions. that's a new boxing record. brandon jennings, just a year removed from high school and making his seventh nba start. he went and played overseas in europe for one season instead going to college. what a game last night. he was held scoreless in the first quarter, but then went on for 55 points. that was a new record that was set 50 years ago by a guy named

at kareem abdul-jabbar. what a career he has ahead of him. legarrette blunt shutting up a yapping boise state player with unblow, dropping that guy to his knees and earning a season-long suspension and having mixed martial arts guys saying, when's this guy get out? the senior running back didn't play, watching his former backup instead, la michael james. play of the day time. heat losing to new jersey in the final second. you going to drive, no, shoot it up from there. the three pointer to win the game. watch wade, fumble the ball, but on the crossover has nod chance but the drain the game winner with 0.1 seconds left, just in the nick of time for d. wade. that's sports.

defense secretary robert gates has blocked the release of any new photos showing americans abusing foreign detainees. the obama administration told the supreme court yesterday gates is using his new powers

provided by law, signed last month. there are 21 pictures showing americans abusing detainees in iraq and afghanistan. the aclu sued to have them released and a lower court supported that, but gates says the release would put u.s. citizens and service members in danger. construction of the aircraft carrier "gerald r. ford" got its official kickoff yesterday with a keel-laying ceremony. that carrier is named for the former president, of course, and is the first in the new ford class of carriers. ford's daughter, susan ford bales was at the ceremony and declared the keel truly and fairly laid. the carrier is scheduled for delivery to the navy in 2015. iran is creating a new cyberpolice unit to crack down on internet crimes. iranian newspapers report the new force will monitor websites, looking for what one official calls fraud, insults, and the spreading of lies. this has seen as a move against the opposition movement in iran, which relies heavily on the web

to spread its message. authorities banned most websites linked to the opposition, but often new websites spring up just within days. iran hasn't said how the cyberpolice will carry out the internet surveillance. it seems a suspected vandal who's been plastering los angeles for months with hundreds of stickers is no juvenile delinquent. he's 73 years old. authorities say the oldest alleged tagger ever busted by l.a.'s sheriff's deputies. they say they caught him sticky-handed, so to speak, friday, when he slapped on "who is john scott" stickers in a subway station. well, john scott was arrested and charged with suspicion of felony vandalism. police say they believe his motive is the same as teenage taggers, fame and notoriety. a secret society linked to two former presidents has long been rumored to have the skull of a famous indian warrior. it's a mystery that may end up in court. geronimo's descendents now say they have even more proof of a 100-year-old crime.

the roar of a 900 horsepower engine may not seem to be very eco-friendly, engine may not seem to be very friendly, but race fan rs finding out speed can be environmentally conscious. >> reporter: for a sports centered around cars that get about five miles per gallon, nascar is an unlikely incubator for some ecofriendly practices. all used tires are shredded and each year, 1,000 gallons of automotive flutd are recycled. the oil could be used for what? >> fleets, cars. >> reporter: the races are like small cities. thousands of fans, thousands of cars, tons of trash.

only about 1/3 of the racetracks recycle, though officials say all will in the next few years. the sport is hanging much success on changing the every day success of their fans. >> i enjoy the outdoors. >> brian vickers, drive of the number 83 car, is one of the sport's young talents. his car is a hybrid. since fans are loyal to the brands of its drivers -- >> there is a connection with the fans like no other. >> reporter: the potential is there, but even jeff gordon, one of the biggest names in racing, will tell you the sport needs to do more to sell fans on a greener lifestyle. >> i think there's a lot more that we can be doing and i think that the fans would appreciate

that. more environmental news, drive on over to our website.

i am an american soldier. after our country was viciously attacked in september of 2001, i enlisted in my state guard, the georgia state defense force, and i proudly served for more than eight years.

but i am proud today to serve on the team with hln's robin meade, we have traveled to the national infantry museum near fort benning, georgia, to answer the questions of soldiers and their families about their wallets. why? so they can be as savvy about money as you are. i want to tell you something that is obvious to you, the country is in a really tough spot financially. we are in some difficult trouble with our economy. but i want to tell you something crazy. for those of you as young soldiers and families of young soldiers, today's economy actually gives you more opportunity than people who came before you. because everything that you need to do in order to build a financial future for yourself is

cheaper now than it used to be. and the greatest thing is as american fighting men and women, you have access to the nation's best long-term savings plan, the thrift savings plan. i want you to know that even though a lot of your relatives in civilian life and friends in civilian life are having a very difficult time financially, you are in a position to have an absolutely fantastic financial future. >> we have lieutenant jose elizabeth, right? >> yeah. >> and he wants to know about how much money you can save selling your house. what makes you ask that? >> today i'm seeing they're saying that soldiers were getting discounts on selling their houses. >> there's a special program for soldiers that if you are, you are issued new orders for new duty station, and this was

signed by president obama this past winter, and you are transferred and you have a home that you can't sell for what you owe on it, the feds will absorb a portion of those losses. and depending on the amount that you would be upside-down on when you sell your home, the feds would either end up covering all of it or a substantial portion of your upside-down amount. and here we go, lieutenant, i have the actual, see my executive producer is so swift. the actual law is called the military home owners assistance program. and it was signed into law on february 17th. there are specific rules about who is eligible for compensation under the program. but its cutoff date at sunset is duty station transfers through 2012. so it is there specifically so that you in service to our country do not suffer hardship by, you don't choose to go to a

new duty station. hey, i think i want to move -- you're told. and so you shouldn't suffer financial harm because of that. >> right behind him is staff sergeant derrick halabash. and somebody contacted him. when people contact you -- i don't know, my radar goes up. what do you mean they contacted you? what were they telling you about relief? >> they were saying they could refinance my home to about 4.8%, about 1/3 off, sir. do you advise going with this? >> it's within reason that you could get a 30-year refinance right now from 4.75% to about 5.25%, if you have solid credit. for a 15-year refi right now, from just under 4%, maybe 3.875, to about 4.25. the question is never, can somebody really write you a loan at 4.75. the question is, what fees are

they going to charge you, in order to refi that loan. and what you want to do, if you get a quote from them, you just don't take a quote from them. you need quotes from others as well. and you want to divide them into three parts. part one is the interest rate that's all that anybody ever tells you about. second part is if they charge you what is known as points. each point is 1% of the amount of money you're borrowing. you know how many points you should pay on a refi? none. the third category is closing costs, closing costs go from here to here. and that's where a lot of lenders will say, they're like picking your pocket. while they're smiling at you. because they'll tell you, we're giving this great rate. but they charge you so much in closing costs, it's really not a great rate. so you need all three from anybody you get a quote from. but is it true you could get 4.75 right now? yes, it is. >> next on "clark howard" --

>> we have a brand new, 2008 truck, that has a very high interest rate in the near 20's, 20%. >> you don't! >> it just touches my heart because you know, we know that the men and women in the uniform sacrificed so much. but sometimes we don't really hear about the family stories and they sacrificed just as much.

all right, so senior officer jeff torres is a candidate. you want to talk about investing in a certain plan. so let's ask about that. >> since becoming parents in the last year, my wife and i have

been concerned with the forecast for higher education in about 17 years. now they're forecasting about $300,000 we'll have to shell out. so what i've done for the first year is invested in my state's 529 plan. i was wondering what your thoughts are about 529 plans or other state plans that i don't know about. >> what is the 529 plan? >> it's a college savings plan, you put money into it all the money grows tax free as long as the money is used for college. all the earnings are tax-free. so it is the absolute best vehicle to save for college. and so you're doing the right thing. what state plan are you in? >> virginia. and actually, we made a conscious decision to remain a virginia resident exclusively for their education benefits. >> let me tell you something about virginia. virginia is one of the states that has multiple 529 plans. and there are good 529 plans in virginia and bad ones. so i have a guide on my website which is clarkhoward.com, where

you can do the hyperlink and make sure that the virginia plan you're in is the good one. not one of the bad ones. >> this is colonel hall-boyer, she's retiring from the reserve about five years from now and has a question about retirement. >> good afternoon, sir. >> hi. >> i'm actually going to be retiring from the army reserve next year sometime. and will retire from my civilian job. i'm projecting five or six years from then. >> when do you rest? >> right now, i'm resting. >> this is it, she's resting. >> i just got back from afghanistan and i'm on my way home. and this is a little rest stop here. but i have about five more working years that i'm going to invest. i don't get my reserve retirement until i'm 59 1/2. and but we'll still have extra money to invest during that time. what would be the best thing to

look into for end of career type investments? >> okay. let me ask you a tough question. if you quit working at 59 1/2, you know the odds are, you'll live maybe another 30 years or so. are you confident that you're going to have enough money five years from now, that you will be able to carry yourself the rest of your life? >> pending the market crash or, unless there's a market crash, i expect to have enough by the time i hit 60. >> so you feel comfortable that you are going to be able to bag work at 60, boom, you're done? >> well, i might not want to quit work. i still like to work. >> do you understand why i'm asking you the question? >> yes. >> because i want to make sure that you are in a position and although i was talking with the young soldier about doing a roth account, for you, doing a roth is even better.

because you're allowed to do what's known as catch-up. you can do an extra $1,000 a year, at $6,000 each year into a roth account. and i would do that for these next five years. when military personnel are deployed overseas, often they leave behind a spouse and children who suddenly are having to deal with money issues stateside. i had the privilege of sitting down with one couple that's getting ready for an imminent overseas deployment. >> my name is private kevin lights and this is my beautiful wife, amanda lights, and this is our 2-week-old son, hunter lights. i'm 21. my wife is 19. i'm facing a deployment in about two weeks. >> how can i be of service to the two of you? >> i have a question. i know with the way the economy is and banks sort of changing the rules as far as things go. are there any banks still participating in the soldiers and sailors relief act? >> they don't have a choice. they have to.

now why is that relevant in your case? >> my husband is deploying to north iraq in the next two weeks. so -- and we have a brand-new, 2008 truck that has a very high interest rate in the near 20's. 20%. >> you don't. what were you thinking? >> we were young when we got it and just we haven't refinanced yet. >> well you have two options because under the soldier and sailors relief act while you're deployed that will go down to 6%, you have to petition for it. the other thing is your credit is good? >> uh-huh. >> why don't you refi. >> we're looking at refi. >> ask them. they may require that you do some down payment, reduction in the loan balance in order for them to do it. but they'll mark it down if your credit's good. >> and i have one more question for you. i have two credit cards but i've

been very leery with them if i put anything on by the time i get the statement, as soon as i get the statement i pay it off. how is that affecting my credit score. >> making it great. >> that's the right thing to do. >> okay. >> learn from her. >> yes, sir. >> next on "clark howard" -- >> you're an example that you don't have to be someone toting a gun to be able to serve. >> would you want me toting a gun? let's take a vote. who wants me carrying a gun?

we were at an army post to show gratitude to the young men and women who put their lives on the line for our country. and to answer their questions and also those of retired military personnel about their wallets.

but i am joined by "new york times" bestselling author, robin meade. >> hi, clark, how are you? >> it feels pretty good to be on "the new york times" best sellers list, doesn't it? >> ever since that happened, i've been telling everybody i'm on the "new york times" bestselling list. >> i remember i was a habitat for humanity build. and i got a phone call that "the new york times" bestseller list had come out and i was on it. and it was amazing, let me tell you, i didn't do very well in english in high school and to be on the "new york times" bestseller list was quite a shock. >> i wonder, i was going to ask clark we just saw a group of soldiers march by and i wondered what was going on. >> we've just had a graduation ceremony for a new group of recruits and i was at the ceremony earlier today. and i want you to know, there's a massive grandstand that was 100% full with family and

friends. and they were standees, a couple of hundred standees because there was no more room for them. they were there to express their pride. their pride in a young soldier, a young family member who has chosen to put on the uniform of the united states army. >> nothing like it. >> and you have a long history of expressing gratitude to soldiers that is not based on some kind of pr puff thing. >> on the morning show on hln, "morning express with robin meade" every day we salute somebody. >> who is she? >> exactly. well, she's on "the new york times" bestseller list. >> exactly. every morning we do a salute to the troops, it's once an hour. and generally it can be somebody who is in the military. but you know who it generally is? it's family members who are generally missing their loved one, they might be deployed overseas, or at another base where they can't be.

>> i cannot tell you how much i miss my son. he had to leave his baby daughter, two weeks old to go and serve his country. >> he is the best husband, the best father. i tell him sometime i wish he was my dad. >> i love my husband so much. because he's able to put smiles on my children's faces. >> he is such an amazing husband and father, our 9-month-old daughter, kiley, misses her father so much. please be careful and come home safe. we love you so much. >> it touches my heart. we know that the men and women in uniform sacrifice so much. but we don't hear about the family stories and they sacrifice just as much. because for months at a time you're deployed. for months at a time someone back here is running the household. so my heart goes out to all sides of the family, whether they're in uniform or not.

>> you've been to a number of army posts, fort bragg, fort sam houston, fort campbell. >> doing different stories there. salute to troops in another form. fort sam houston, we were visiting amputees, people who were obviously in the service and then had something happen where they were amputees, that's a great facility there. fort bragg we were there doing a memorial day special. fort campbell we were there doing a veterans day special. >> and the soldiers are pretty excited to see you. >> really? >> yes. no one's asked me why i'm in uniform. i saw you looking at my uniform and you couldn't figure out -- >> i was told, are you in the reserves? what do you do? >> i'm in the state guard. >> what does a state guardsman do? >> thank you for asking. there are 27 of the 50 states have state guards that are usually part of the same military structure as the

national guard. and where national guardsmen deploy here in the united states or overseas. state guardsmen only deploy within the 50 states. >> what job do you do? >> they have me do public affairs. >> you talk, don't you? >> i enlisted right after the terrorist attacks. someone told me about the state guard and i was like, wow. i'm too old to go into regular army reserves or national guard. but this gave me an opportunity to serve. >> you look great. you look great and -- >> i would like on my website at clarkhoward.com i have a guide to all the states that have state guards. and how people can volunteer and enlist. >> but you're an example that you don't have to be someone toting a gun to be able to serve. >> would you want me toting a gun? let's take a vote who wants me carrying a gun? who wants me not carrying a gun? okay. not much faith in me carrying a gun.

>> your weapon is your information with finances and you help us. >> oh, very good. there you go.

>> i'm an american soldier! i will never accept defeat! i will never quit! i am an american soldier! welcome back to the national infantry museum in columbus, georgia, we're here with our brave fighting men and women who i appreciate so much putting their lives on the line for our nation's freedom.

we're here to take their questions about better ways to handle their dough. >> i'm way over here with staff sergeant isaac rios, thank you for your service. and he heard you talk about tsp. and he wants to know about some other good investments for like what? >> any other investment that you recommend to just get a little bit more money. >> if you have more money than -- >> let's say you already have the tsp. >> what other investments that you know about. >> i got it. >> all right. you got $5,000 for me right now? >> yeah. >> okay. good. because you can do -- >> everybody's head swivelled, they're like, ooh, where? >> you can do up to $5,000 each calendar year in an account called a roth. roth is my favorite savings vehicle. you put in this money, up to

$5,000. and if you're married, you can do five and five. you don't have to do five, that's just a ceiling. you put money into it, and listen to this, you never get taxed on that money. everything you earn on it, tax-free. when you spend it, you spend it tax-free. you can take money you got in savings, whatever it is, and put it into a roth account. and the tax-free advantage over time is gigantic. now when are you allowed to spend the money? when would you guess i'm going to let you spend the money? >> that was my next question. what can i spend -- >> 59 1/2. how old are you now? >> 33. >> so you would put this money into a roth, and you got to leave it in there for 26 years. but then everything that you have is your money to spend, dollar for dollar, government's out of your life on taxing it.

>> chrissie landmeter i'm sitting right beside her and you guys are doing some overseas psc move to germany. you only have two months to prepare. what question do you have financially? >> i wanted to know, there's some extra costs that are going to be incurring for an overseas move that will not be covered with our allowance. shipping our pet, things with our cars, multiple things we're coming across that we have to do. i was wondering instead of dipping into our savings, which do you think would be best way to cover these costs since we only have two months to prepare and we have to start doing that now? >> well actually this is the kind of circumstance that dipping into savings is appropriate. but that's what it's there for. but you said cars, shipping cars to germany? >> well we're shipping one, but like we have to do, there's things we have to do to the car before. new tires, all of these different things. our pet -- >> and you're having to pay for the shipping of the car? >> we're not paying for the shipping, but the maintenance that needs to be done. the shipping of the pet.

we're going over the $1,000 mark and of course, i don't have that budgeted into the monthly budget. >> but you do have savings. >> yes, we do have savings. >> see, because you have savings you're making the people right behind you very happy. because you actually have a pay to pay for those expenses for relocation that are not covered. >> this is how much this guy loves saving money. and he's going to share a little bit of that with you. he uses one razor every six months. i'm not joking.

i'll be remiss if i didn't tell you this. my father in law and my father are both huge fans, any time we ask them any sort of financial

advice -- they always say, well clark howard says -- so we hear that a lot. so we had to tell you, they're huge fans and they really like what you do. >> thank you. >> on my way back from iraq just before i redeployed to the states, i bought a harley. and i paid half off, i paid the nine grand, i could have paid in full, but i decided to take a loan out for the other nine to build my credit. i was wondering, would it be smart of me to refinance my, the loan? or just let it ride out and keep paying payments, i'm not having any problems paying it off. >> what interest rate is the harley loan at? >> the interest rate is 4.69%. >> there's no refi i would really do. that's a fantastic rate. is that subsidized by harley? or is that from the credit union? >> andrews federal credit union. >> smart man. before we go on, i need a show of hands, who has already joined the credit union? >> all right now want to tell you something -- i need next

time i come here, whatever duty station you're at and i ask that question, i want that hand up in the air. because you're missing a real opportunity. you heard that 4.69%. credit unions are so great at virtually every military installation, that you could be assigned to. you're going to have access to a credit union. if you're not familiar with why it's so great to be in one, if you go to a bank and open an account, you are helping to fund the profits for the stockholders of that bank. on the other hand, if you go to a credit union and open an account, you become an owner of the credit union, and everything they do and everything they offer, is so that you get a better deal on loans, savings and checking. so -- by the time we're done today, i hope that everybody will raise their hands and say they're a credit union member. >> all right. specialist greg frye is right here. and he has a question about

something that i have seen on the commercials again and again. >> clark, what is the best way to invest in gold? >> other than turning in your wife's jewelry and stuff like that? >> yeah. >> first, any of those ads you see on tv from all of these people who buy your jewelry and all that? run away. run away, not to them. second, buying gold is tough. because when you buy actual gold, you have to pay a commission to buy it, you have to pay a commission to sell it. and then let's say you put real money into gold. let's say you take all your savings and you put it into gold. gold is something people want to steal. so then you got to pay to lock it up. so there isn't anything i like about buying actual gold. but there's a trick way to buy it that's easy and cheap if gold

is you what you want to have. you can buy ownership in gold like you buy a stock. and it's called an etf, an exchange-traded fund, which sounds complicated, but it's not. and you pay a company to buy gold for you. they store it for you in a vault. and then when you choose to sell it, you can sell it right away at whatever market price is. it's really, really easy to do. and it saves you a fortune. and you have the same thing owning gold. >> one of the most difficult transitions for military personnel is reassignment to a new duty location. well, there are lot of money issues that come up with that. and i visited with one couple that had a lot of questions for me. >> hi, i'm captain john burns and this is my beautiful wife may. >> hi. >> i've been in the army for about three years now, 3 1/2 years and i've had one deployment to baghdad, iraq for 15 months during the surge in 2007-2008.

>> we're trying to buy a house in the near future. maybe a year or two, two years. >> and are going to be deployed where in america? >> maybe stationed in fort bragg in about the next six months after i get done here at benning. that's like a permanent duty -- >> yes. >> what questions do you have about buying a house? >> i won't have a significant payment to buy a home. should we wait maybe a year, rent for awhile, and put a decent-sized savings away that we can put a down payment on the home? >> there is no right answer to that. if you buy a home pretty quickly under a va loan, the advantage to that side of it is that the housing market won't have recovered by six months from now. let's say you waited 18 months, 24 months to have substantial downpayment. there may have started to be a meaningful recovery to the housing market. even though i love people to pay substantial down payment, in your circumstance, when you get

to bragg, i would look at buying a home there before the market recovers. but especially if you find one that's a real deal. next on "clark howard" -- >> nobody knows how to get a bargain at sam's club, are you serious? >> i mean you can actually ask for a bargain? >> no, there's something you look for.

retiring in about seven years, buying land or building, i'm trying to figure out the best way. >> i will prefer, if you will consider, buying a house instead of land. here's why.

in the real estate slump, what's happened is that houses are selling for less than replacement costs. which means that what you pay to buy a house right now is cheaper than it costs sticks up to bill. so you might get a real deal on land, but then you decide to build your own house now or later, if you were to build the house now, at least you'd get good prices from build ers and better prices on materials, because the market's not in great shape, but your best deal is buying a house that somebody's just got to sell because you can buy it at a fraction of cha it would cost to make. >> maria might be your favorite person here today. she says what's the best way to be debt-free before retiring. when are you retiring? >> two to five years from civil service. >> so the question is what kind of debts that you have that you're trying to get your arms

around? >> i want to get around to paying off the house and having just house and utilities by the time i retire. >> well,ing off your home mortgage is not always a priority. the big priority is paying off any unsecured debt. credit cards, car loans. but mortgage debt is not a high priority with me. it's more important you beef up your savings. it's psychological for people to want to be mortgage-free on day they retire. i'm not that much into that because your house isn't going to feed you money. you're going to feed yourself with the money that you save. >> but what about -- i've heard other financial analysts who aren't half as good as you, when they say, yeah, that you're paying off your mortgage should be a priority because that way, you're never homeless.

>> well, that is a good point, but i'm more concerned about people who retire, don't have enough money, don't have enough cash to pay for every day things and it's an empty victory that they own their house free and clear. >> this is how much this guy loves saving money. he's going to share a little of that with you. he uses one razor every six months. i'm not joking. and he has figured out how you make that razor last. >> the secret to making a blade last that long is yours forfree if you buy robin meade's new new york times best-selling book. no, believe it or not, whatever blade you use, dry it after you use it. a blade does not deteriorate

from shaving you. only from the moisture. so if you dry a blade, you're fine. just before i found out about this, i had gone to a warehouse club and they had 35 packs of razors on clearance. i have 70 of these things i bought. now, i use two blades a year, so that means i now have a 35-year supply of razors. i got to make it to 89 years old before i need to buy my next one. anybody know the secret pricing codes at sam's club? >> really? does it have to do with what level card you are? >> nobody knows how to get a bargain at sam's club? >> you mean, you can actually ask for a bargain? >> no, there's something you

look for. anything that ends in one cent has been marked down. they don't do sales because they don't want anybody to wait for things to be reduced in price, so for internal use, if you see something that ends in like 52.31 ce 52.31 -- i was in sam's yesterday and i walked the floor and i go aisle to aisle, looking, instead of looking at the merchandise, i look at what's ending in one penny and if i want it. >> how did you learn that? >> it's my job to know stuff like that. anybody ever been in a costco wholesale? >> oh, yeah. >> nobody? anybody know the system at costco? >> they have a similar thing. 97 cents.

anything that ends in 97 cents has been marked down below costs. those are the times you're getting something that's a real, real, real deal. >> i neal shubert and his wife laura. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> laura, who do you have in your arms here? >> this is aubrey. >> who's in your arms? >> who are you? >> bella. >> bella, how are you, honey? how old are you? >> 4. >> i understand that you might be going to harvard some day and that's expensive. >> yeah. >> that is what you want to know about, right? is how you're going to pay for these two in college. >> exactly. >> tell me what you've been thinking. what you've been trying to process what you're going to do here because pretty expensive for two of them in college. >> absolutely. right now we're just kind of looking at just saving as much

as we can but we're trying to figure out what options are out there to, you know, save more to get the most bang for our buck. >> well, the big thing is that i always want to make sure that the two of you are saving for yourselves, first. >> okay. >> so your first step is to put up to $5,000 for each of you into a roth each year. if you still have more money you want to save, then you can open one of the college 529 plans, the 529 savings plans, but you start by saving for yourself, because the roth has the double flexibility that if they end up getting scholarships or whatever it is, you don't need any of the money for college but you still need it for retirement. perfect. >> okay. >> does that make sense? >> absolutely. that's fantastic. thank you so much. >> sure. >> thank you. >> next on "clark howard" -- >> you want the car that your neighbors and your friends are laughing at you about. because then some day you're going to be saying, am i going

to go play golf over there or over there? and they're getting in their car and they're going to work. @@@